Monthly Archives: October 2016

TV Studio Masterclass (19th Oct)

Posted on by
Reply

I attended the TV Studio Masterclass today, along with a few others from the Audio Production course. To begin with we went upstairs to the control room, where we were shown the monitoring screens, which had feeds from all the studios cameras, and also had a computer that allowed decals and images to be overlaid onto the camera footage. All the footage is captured and recorded onto hard drive, with a backup saved onto a separate drive in case the standard drive has issues and footage is lost. This footage is also uploaded to a server for extra safety. The mixing desk was in the same location as the recorders, which were mounted in racks. We are afforded a surprising amount of headroom, as 0dB is actually -18dB, so we should be aiming for amber with most dialogue, and are able to dip into the red occasionally if necessary. Interestingly enough, the audio has to be delayed slightly, as the video signal sent from the studio arrives more slowly, so a delay has to be used to keep audio and video in sync. We were also shown the radio mic rack, which shows when mics are in use, and also when their batteries are running low, as well as the patch bay.

We then went into the studio itself, which had a load of cameras, several with an autocue rigged up, allowing actors to read scripts without taking their eyes of the camera. We had a look at the old system for taking sound in which consisted of plugging into the interface (phantom power controls were at the back, oddly enough), and sending that to a tie-line where it will be sent to the mixing desk, where it will be mixed before being recorded. The new system worked in a similar way, but the new Focusrite interface had phantom power controls at the front, and essentially amalgamated most of the equipment it was replacing into one box. It also had a USB connector, allowing for local recording directly from the interface, as well as sending it to the mixing desk.

It all seemed rather complex, but I can see the benefits of being confident with a multi-cam setup, so I’ll need to do some research into how the system works in greater detail, and perhaps I’ll look into exploring multi-cam projects in my Semester B Audio Project.

Cognition Group Meeting (18th October)

Posted on by
Reply

This was a useful meeting, primarily because the Director, Producer and Rob, one of our sound team, had scouted a location earlier in the morning. We learnt that the location was perfect in terms of visuals, but unfortunately had several drawbacks in terms of Location Audio. The ceiling was low, which meant access for booms and also lights would be an issue, meaning we may need to scoop in situations where normally we wouldn’t have too, lowering the quality of any audio, albeit slightly. The main issue is that a main road is situated very close by, which means using a boom might not even be possible, so we would have to rely on radio mics, then add atmosphere and ambience in during Post-Production. I would like, if possible to avoid that, as all my research has told me that we should strive to record the best possible audio on Location. No matter how skilled you are at noise reduction, ambience matching, etc. it would still be favourable to have clear, usable dialogue from the get-go.

Read More

AP Lecture 2 (17th Oct) – Jez Riley French, Sound Artist

Posted on by
Reply

Our guest lecture this week was with Jez Riley French, a sound artist who uses raw, uncoloured sound from spaces, with a variety of unorthodox microphones. Below is an excerpt from his website, jezrileyfrench.co.uk:

“Jrf is particularly associated with the development of extended recording techniques, including the recording of structural vibrations, contact microphone recording, ultrasonics, infrasonics, internal electronic signals via coil pick-up’s and recordings made with hydrophones.”

Read More

Meeting with Mikey, Film Crew’s Tutor (12th Oct)

Posted on by
Reply

This meeting was a rather simple one, and it was nice to meet Mikey and sit in on some of his discussion with Lauren about the script and what it needed before it was complete. The opening flashback looks to be removed, and Mikey liked the idea of setting the film predominantly in one location. I suggested using the two already in the script, as we could use audio creatively to transition between the two spaces, and attempt to foreshadow the film’s bloody end using sound. I suggested something simple like having birdsong and a relaxed, calm atmosphere in the first space, Susan’s bedroom, which would then fade out as we transitioned to the basement. When in, the door could shut with a loud metallic clang, and perhaps a bolt could be thrown as well, shattering the atmosphere of the previous space. Then the noise of the basement, machines clicking and whirring, the claustrophobic atmosphere would rush in as Susan descends the stairs. I like it.

Aside from this, I was quiet for most of the meeting, as Mikey spoke to Lauren about using crowdfunding to gain some extra money for the film, tentatively set a budget of approximately £1500. We then headed off, and Mikey mentioned that until the script was finalised, it wasn’t necessary for us (Sound Team) to attend all of the Film Crew’s meetings with him. I expect we’ll attend in a fortnight.